Father Sentenced After 2-Year-Old Found With Alcohol

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 42-year-old man was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and 45 days of electronic home monitoring after his 2-year-old son was discovered in the middle of the street holding alcoholic drinks, according to police.

Robert Wayne Rasset, of Hastings, Minn., pleaded guilty last month to one gross misdemeanor count of child neglect. A second charge was dismissed.

According to the charges, police received a call about a child in the middle of the street near 15th and Florence streets last April. There, police discovered the toddler, who wasn’t wearing socks or shoes, holding two Mike’s Hard Lemonades.

Hastings Police Chief Paul Schnell said police then used an automated phone system to try to locate someone who knew the child. After more than two hours with no response, police widened the call area.

A short time later, the child’s father, identified as Rasset, called police reporting his missing son.

Police went to Rasset’s home and found him intoxicated. He then became uncooperative and was arrested for suspicion of child endangerment, Schnell said.

The toddler was brought to his mother, who does not live with his father.

As part of Rasset’s sentencing, he is required to complete a parenting class, remain law abiding, avoid all alcohol and controlled substances, as well as other stipulations.